A One‐Two Punch Strategy Against Cancer: Simultaneously Inducing and Eliminating Senescent Tumor Cells

Abstract Senolytics, an emerging class of agents that selectively deplete pro‐tumorigenic senescent cells, offer a novel adjuvant strategy to re‐engineer the tumor microenvironment and potentiate anticancer therapy. However, direct senolytic treatment poses significant safety risks, and selectively eliminating senescent cells to treat tumors remains a substantial challenge. Here, a metal‐polyphenol network (MPN) therapeutic platform operates through a “one‐two punch” strategy. The platform exploits metal‐polyphenol coordination to co‐assemble Fe 3 ⁺, folate‐terminated polyethylene glycol (PEG), a disulfide‐bridged dasatinib prodrug, and quercetin into stable nanoparticles (DQ NPs). Folate–PEG confers active tumor targeting on DQ NPs while locally released Fe 3 + pushes tumor cells into senescence, and the high intratumoral glutathione (GSH) level together with the acidic microenvironment activate the prodrug to enable dasatinib and quercetin to synergistically clear the senescent cells. Owing to their dual pH‐ and GSH‐responsiveness, these DQ NPs specifically induce senescence and then eradicate senescent tumor cells, resulting in potent tumor growth suppression. Both in vitro and in vivo studies reveal markedly superior antitumor efficacy over conventional senolytics. Comprehensive toxicological analyses further demonstrate tumor‐selective accumulation and an excellent safety profile. Collectively, our work presents a dual‐responsive MPN platform that integrates senescence induction with selective clearance, offering a new paradigm for cancer therapy.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2025-11-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202524946
Primary Topic
Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

A One‐Two Punch Strategy Against Cancer: Simultaneously Inducing and Eliminating Senescent Tumor Cells

Zhongquan Sun, Gaopeng Li, Wenli Tian, Zhengwei Mao et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
article

A One‐Two Punch Strategy Against Cancer: Simultaneously Inducing and Eliminating Senescent Tumor Cells

Zhongquan Sun, Gaopeng Li, Wenli Tian, Zhengwei Mao, Yanping Shen, Hui Guo, Fei Pan, Sailing Chen, Daqian Xu, Yuhao Wang, Xiao Li, Yuan Ding, Zhu Yang, Bo Fang, Hao Wang
article en

Abstract

Abstract Senolytics, an emerging class of agents that selectively deplete pro‐tumorigenic senescent cells, offer a novel adjuvant strategy to re‐engineer the tumor microenvironment and potentiate anticancer therapy. However, direct senolytic treatment poses significant safety risks, and selectively eliminating senescent cells to treat tumors remains a substantial challenge. Here, a metal‐polyphenol network (MPN) therapeutic platform operates through a “one‐two punch” strategy. The platform exploits metal‐polyphenol coordination to co‐assemble Fe 3 ⁺, folate‐terminated polyethylene glycol (PEG), a disulfide‐bridged dasatinib prodrug, and quercetin into stable nanoparticles (DQ NPs). Folate–PEG confers active tumor targeting on DQ NPs while locally released Fe 3 + pushes tumor cells into senescence, and the high intratumoral glutathione (GSH) level together with the acidic microenvironment activate the prodrug to enable dasatinib and quercetin to synergistically clear the senescent cells. Owing to their dual pH‐ and GSH‐responsiveness, these DQ NPs specifically induce senescence and then eradicate senescent tumor cells, resulting in potent tumor growth suppression. Both in vitro and in vivo studies reveal markedly superior antitumor efficacy over conventional senolytics. Comprehensive toxicological analyses further demonstrate tumor‐selective accumulation and an excellent safety profile. Collectively, our work presents a dual‐responsive MPN platform that integrates senescence induction with selective clearance, offering a new paradigm for cancer therapy.

Advanced Functional Materials
Macau University of Science and Technology (MO), Zhejiang Cancer Hospital (CN), Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University (CN), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (CN), Institute of Apiculture Research (CN), Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (CN), First Affiliated Hospital Zhejiang University (CN), Zhejiang University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Zhejiang University, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province
Openalex Percentile: Top 54%
Telomeres, Telomerase, and Senescence
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